Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Finished, except the mess to clean up

It is both my blessing and curse to have all of my ancestors in Delaware County, Pennsylvania …..at least my ancestors from the last 200 or so years. If I’m lucky enough to find a Pierce on a census, church record or newspaper archived article then I ultimately see the surname Van Riper, Jackson, Elliott, Williams or Dalton shimmering on the same page, catching my eye. It’s as if the names are bolded and I think…well, here is my Dalton line and it IS right in front of me so I may as well print this and follow up on it while I have access to this census (Fill in applicable resource). This, naturally, sends me off course.

It’s really hard to ignore unexpected and possibly needed info when you are trying so hard to concentrate on one lineage. So, here we go for the gazillionth time on this resolution……..

1. I am writing up all I have on hand on this line of Pierces and I will get rid of superfluous papers that may be a clue.

2. I will get it in a booklet and send to my cousins who share a common interest in the line.

3. If something in the future surfaces on the Pierce family that does connect, I will immediately make the update and cite the source. Then return to whatever project which I am imbedded.

4. I will make the attempt to have my “lineage so far” research on Pierces in a booklet/ FTM no later than October 30 of this year.

Ok, so it’s more than one resolution but it connects. Goodness knows, in the past I have tried to motivate myself by publicly declaring a completion date. To my shame this has never worked…maybe this time.

And that's it........instead of keeping this journal to research and results only, I ended up writing about life in general, books and food. That was never my intention. But once it's off my list of primary goals I can push it aside, literally and mentally, and just chill out at Squirrel Head Manor, take pictures and start something new and different. Much thanks to everyone who has offered advice, done lookups of census and obits, and been a friend. It was fun :-)

MY forwarding address is here: Please come visit me!

Monday, September 8, 2008

31 Upland Road


My cousin Eileen was gracious enough to share this wonderful photo that shows 4 generations of my family. The only Pierce in the photo is my mother.

The photo was taken at 31 Upland Road in Upland, sometimes the boundaries made it Parkside. The time frame must have been about 1944 because the baby in the photo is my sister Linda.

The beautiful young lady standing on the right is Estelle Pierce Jackson. The woman holding the baby is Margaretta Wynyall (Van Riper) Dalton and the baby, Linda Jeane Jackson, is her great granddaughter. The woman seated behind is Margaretta Wynyall (Dalton) Jackson.

On the left side is William Harvey Jackson (husband of Margaretta), seated is Catharine Wynyall (Dalton) Campion and the cute little girl is her daughter Eileen.

Please click on the photo for a larger view. Thank you Eileen, this photo is a real treasure to me!